2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine

The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including Governor of Maine and United States Senate. The primary elections were held on June 10, 2014.

This election marked the first time since 1994 that Maine elected a Republican into the House of Representatives.

Overview
Results of the 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine by district:

District 1
The 1st district includes covers the southern coastal area of the state, including all of Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and York counties and most of Kennebec County. Located within the district are the cities of Portland, Augusta, Brunswick and Saco. The incumbent Democrat Chellie Pingree, who had represented the district since 2009, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 65% of the vote in 2012, and the district had a PVI of D+9.

Nominee

 * Chellie Pingree, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Isaac Misiuk, former University of Southern Maine College Republicans president

Declined

 * Meredith Strang Burgess, former state representative

Declared

 * Richard Murphy, Maine National Guardsman

District 2
The 2nd district covers 27326 sqmi, comprising nearly 80% of the state's total land area. It is the largest district east of the Mississippi River and the 24th-largest overall. It is the second-most rural district in the United States, with 72.11% of its population in rural areas, behind only Kentucky's 5th congressional district. It includes most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metropolitan areas, including the cities of Bangor, Lewiston, Auburn and Presque Isle. The incumbent Democrat Mike Michaud, who had represented the district since 2003, did not seek re-election, and was selected as Democratic nominee for Governor of Maine in the 2014 election. He was re-elected with 58% of the vote in 2012, and the district has a PVI of D+2.

Nominee

 * Emily Cain, state senator

Eliminated in primary

 * Troy Dale Jackson, Majority Leader of the Maine Senate

Withdrew

 * Alden Smith, Navy reservist

Declined

 * Joe Baldacci, Bangor City Councilor
 * John Baldacci, former governor and former U.S. Representative
 * Matthew Dunlap, Secretary of State of Maine
 * James Howaniec, attorney, former mayor of Lewiston and candidate for this seat in 1994
 * Jeff McCabe, Assistant Majority Leader of the Maine House of Representatives
 * Mike Michaud, incumbent U.S. Representative (running for Governor)

Nominee

 * Bruce Poliquin, former State Treasurer of Maine and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012

Eliminated in primary

 * Kevin Raye, former President of the Maine Senate and nominee for the seat in 2002 and 2012

Withdrew

 * Blaine Richardson, United States Navy veteran, and candidate for this seat in 2012 (unenrolled as a Republican, running as an independent)
 * Richard Rosen, director of the Maine Office of Policy and Management and former state senator
 * Alexander Willette, Assistant Minority Leader of the Maine House of Representatives

Declined

 * Kenneth Fredette, Minority Leader of the Maine House of Representatives
 * Jonathan LaBonte, Mayor of Auburn
 * Paul LePage, Governor of Maine (running for re-election)
 * Garrett Mason, state senator
 * Debra Plowman, former state senator
 * Joshua Tardy, former Minority Leader of the Maine House of Representatives
 * Michael Thibodeau, Minority Leader of the Maine Senate

Declared

 * Blaine Richardson, United States Navy veteran, and Republican candidate for the seat in 2012 (unenrolled as a Republican, running as an independent)

Campaign
Bruce Poliquin resisted invitations to debates where Blaine Richardson would be present, including one sponsored by MPBN. Political observers stated this might have been due to Richardson's potential to split the conservative vote. Emily Cain expressed support for Richardson being present at debates and said she would only attend debates where both of the other candidates were present. A debate to be held on WMTW-TV was cancelled after Cain pulled out to protest Richardson not being invited. WMTW said they and their parent company, Hearst Television, had strict criteria for invitations to debates that Richardson did not meet. These criteria included holding large campaign events, fundraising, and performance in polling, all of which WMTW said were not met.

On August 29, Richardson revealed, and Poliquin's campaign confirmed, that Richardson had rejected a request from Poliquin to quit the race. A Poliquin spokesman stated the phone call was made because Richardson had "no chance" to win and seemed "more interested in working with Emily Cain to bash Bruce rather than have a discussion about the future". Richardson said he would stay in the race and he was "so fed up with the parties, both of them". He also said that Poliquin asking him to quit had been one of the biggest boosts for his campaign.